Mechanical musical instrument



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

G. W. ,INGALLS. MECHANICAL MUSIGAL INSTRUMENT.

'PatentedJOGt. 17, 1882 Jhzreniar 61:82am Wfgyalls Jig? N. PETERS,Phob-Lllhonpbor. Wm

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

G. w. INGALLS. MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Patented Qct. 17, 1882.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUS'EAVUS .W INGALLS, OF \VOROESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

M ECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 266,036, dated October17, 1882.

Application filed June 16, 1882.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GUSTAVUS W. INGALLS, a citizen of the United States,residing at WVorcester, in the county of WVorcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Musical Instruments; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertaius to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and toletters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification.

This invention relates especially to devices for controlling theemission of sound from the reeds of automatic musical instruments, andto devices for controlling the position of the feed-rolls employedtherein.

The said invention consists partly in the combination, with areed-board, of a valve-bar for closing the reed-ducts and a crank-shaftfor holding said bar against the mouth of said ducts by positivepressure.

It also consists in the combination, with the foregoing elements, ofsprings which tend to force said bar away from said reed-board.

It also consists in a pair of pivoted arms having the valve-bar attachedthereto on one side of the pivot and the upper feed-roll on the otherside thereof, in combination with devices, hereinafter described,whereby both said attached parts may be held above'the paper, or eitherof them may be held down on the paper and the other up.

It also consists in the combination ofa lower feed-roll which is adaptedto be moved away from the upper feed-roll with a lever having a cam-facewhich is adapted to bear against a journal of the said lower feed-rollto depress the same.

It also consists in other details of construction and combinationhereinafter set forth and claimed.

The nature of my various improvements will be hereinafter fullydescribed, and more pre- (No model.)

swell-board having been removed. Fig. 2 represents a detail perspectiveview of the reedboard, the valve for closing the same, the movable upperi'eed-roll, and proximate devices, the swell-board having been turnedback. Fig. 3 represents a detail perspective view, taken from below, ofthe devices for raising and lowering the lower feed-roll. Fig. 4represents a detail perspective view of a cap or rack, to which theupper feed-roll, the outer valve, and adjacent parts are attached bymeans of re movable plates. Fig. 5 represents a vertical longitudinalsection through Fig. 2, and Fig. 6 represents a detail view of onepivoted arm and its spring.

A designates the top of the casingof the instrument.

B B represent the winding and rewinding rolls for the music-sheet,attached to said top on one end thereof; and 0 designates the reedboard, attached to said top near the other end thereof, and extending upthrough it in the usual manner, so that the mouths of the reedducts maybe opened and closed by the musicsheet, which passes over themandoperates as a valve. It sometimes, however, is desirable to use anadditional valve which will close all the ducts together and prevent theemission of sound until it is removed. For this purpose I employ avalve-bar, D, which is suitably faced with soft material cl on its underside and journaled above said reed-board to a pair of pivoted arms, E,on one side of the pivotseof said arms. To said arms on the other sideof pivots e the upper feed-roll, F, is journaled, one of thebearing-holes for the journals of said upper feed-roll being shown inFig. (5 and marked e. Below it, as usual, is the other feed-roll, G.Springs H (shown in Fig. 6) bear against arms E, so as to force saidupper feedrollagainst said lower feed-roll and raise valvebar D above'the mouths of the reed-ducts. This is the position the parts assumeduring the operation of playing or making music.

I designates a rock-shaft journaled in the side walls of said casing-topA, and provided with an upwardly-turned handle, 2', and a pair oftriangular cams, I I, the last being arranged to bear on the tops of thetwo arms E, respectively. These cams are arranged above the ends of armsE, to which valvebar D is attached. Hencewhen turnedsoastohearthereonthey tend to force said valve-bar toward the reed-board and to raisesaid upper feed-roll. \Vhen said handle i is turned down to the rightsaid cams do not act on said arms, and the parts then occupy theposition above described. When said handle is turned into an uprightposition the sides '5 i bear against arms E and hold them firmly in suchposition thatthe upper feed-roll and the val ve-bar aforesaid are bothraised above the top of the instrument-casing, so that the music-sheetmay he withdrawn without impediment. When handle i is turned down to theleft the points of said cams force the valve-bar tightly against themouths of the reed-ducts and lock it there, completely closing the sameuntil the handle i is turned in the other direction. The journaledattachment of the valve-bar to its arms E allows it to automaticallyadjust itself so as to lit snugly and exactly upon the mouths of thereed-ducts. \Vhen the reed-ducts have thus been closed the mechanism ofthe instrument may be operated, exhibited, and tested withoutmakingasound. When an automatic instrument is combined with a key-organ thevalve-bar thus constructed and applied will he found very serviceable inrendering the automatic devices inoperative, when so desired, bystopping the mouths of the reed-ducts belonging to the reeds of theautomatic part of the instrument. As already described,it can easily bethrown into position to allow the removal of the music-sheet without theleast obstruction.

J designates a curved sounding-board or swell-board, provided at itscorners nearest the feed-rolls with gudgconsj, whereby it is journaledto the side walls, a a, raised on top of the casing, the axial linethereof being above that of the feed rolls. When said sounding-board isturned down it forms a kind of inclosing cap for the space above thereedhoard, and is in contact with a crank-arm, 70, formed on the innerend of a bent bar, K, having a handle, 7t, and journaled in one of saidside walls, a. By vibrating said handle said sounding-board will becaused to vibrate also on its gudgeons, givinga similar vibratorycharacter to the musical sounds emitted, or it may simply be allowed toremain in its lowest position, thereby acting as a sounding-box. Thissounding-board or swell-board may be readily turned back on itsjournalsout of the way when not needed.

L designates a board or trap-door, slotted at Z to receive the lowerteed-roll, G,which is journaled therein. Said board or trap-door forms apart of the casing-top A, and is hinged at Z l on one side to the bodyof said top, so as to be capable of opening downwardly, and therebyseparating the lower feed-roll from the upper one. A spring, M, forcessaid hinged part L up even with the remainder of top A and holds lowerieed-roll,G,firmlyagainst the upper feed roll, F, though with a yieldingpressure. 011 the side of the casing is an upright lever, N, of

the first kind, which is provided at its upper end with a handle,n,andat its lower end with an operating cam-face, N, thatbears against thetop of a projectii'ig journal of said lower feed-roll, G. \Vhen saidlever is turned in one direction its cam-face forces down said lowerfeed-roll.

' In Fig. 4 a hinged rack, O, is shown, similar in construction andoperation to that shown in a prior application of my own now pendingbefore the United States Patent Ut'lice, but differing in this, that thesides of the rack are detachable metallic strips or plates 0, held tothe top ot'the rack hyscrews 0. To these plates the arms E, presser baror roll P, and crank-shaft or cam-shalt I are all attached, so that whenthese plates are removed from the top of the rack all the operatingparts belonging to the rack are removed also. In this case the shalt Iis modified by making a broad double crank throughout nearly its wholelength. \Vhcn turned until this crank is npright it will lock thevalvebar D firmly against the mouths of the reedducts. The plates 0obviously serve as a more secure attach ment and bearing for thejournalsor gudgeons of the cam or crank shaft, presserroll, arms E, and thepivots of said rack. The upper feed-roll, when not used with the arms E,may also be attached to said plates. It is obvious that the said platesprotect the rack from being worn at the sides by the continual butnecessary removal of the rack from the iiistrument; and, as statedabove, they enable the presser-roll and the other devices referred toabove to be removed from the rack by the removal of the plates, therebyaccomplishing in a few moments what formerly took a considerable time todo. The plates can be readily attached to the rack by means of thescrews.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desii e tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. In combination with a reed-board, a valvebar for closing the reedducts, and a crankshaft for holding said bar against the mouths of saidducts by positive pressure.

2. In combination with a reed-board and a valve-bar for closing themouths of the reedducts, a cam-shaft for holding said bar against themouths of said ducts by positive pressure, and springs which tend toforce said bar a\ 'ay from said reed-board.

3. A pair of pivoted arms, E, and a transverse valve-bar attachedthereto on one side of the pivots,in combination with a reed-board and acam-shaft, the cams on said shalt being arranged to bear against saidarms when said shaft is suitably turned, and adapted to lock said barpositively against the mouths of the reed-duets.

4. A pair of pivoted arms, E, in combination with valve-bar D, which isjournalcd thereto,

a reed-board, and a crank-shaft which forces said valve-bar against themouths of the reedducts.

5. A valve-barjonrnaled in pivotal supports,

in combination with a reed-hoard and devices for moving said bar andsupports toward and from said reed-board.

6. A reed-board, a valve-bar for closing the reed-ducts, and pivotedsupports for said bar, in combination with a feed-roll, also mounted onsaid supports and on the other side of the pivots, and a rock-shaft,cams, and springs operating to lock down either said feed-roll or saidvalve-bar, as described.

7. A pair of pivoted arms provided on one side of their pivots with avalve-bar and on the other with a feed-roll, in combination with springsfor forcing said roll down and said valve-bar up, and a rock-shaftprovided with cams which are adapted to lock said valve-bar down andsaid feed-roll up, or to'lock both of them in a raised position, as setforth.

8. An upper teed-roll for an automatic musical instnument,journaled to apair of pivoted arms, lIl combination with a cam-shaft operating on saidarms to positively raise the upper feed-roll from the lower feed-rollsubstantially as set forth.

9. A pair of pivoted arms, E,in combination 25 with a roll journaled toone end of each of said arms and a cam-shaft operating on the other endof said arms to raise said roll.

10. Pivoted lever or bar N, having a camface, L on its lower end, incombination with 0 a lower feed-roll, which is movable away from theupper feed-roll, said cam-face being arranged to bear upon a protruding;part on the shaft of said roll and to depress the same, substantially asset forth.

In testimony whereof I allix mysignature in presence of two witnesses.

"rUSTAV US \V. ING-ALLS.

Witnesses:

FRANK A. BEANE, J; W. FARNSWOR'IIL

